A Memorial Tribute to Granny

"Dear God,"

"When You are ready for my Granny, could You please take her to heaven while she sleeps comfortably at home?"    I prayed this granddaughter request often.

God answered my prayer on October 30th...just the way I requested.

Her small, simple, pre-arranged funeral last week in Southern Indiana mirrored how she lived and died...without fanfare.

The picture below was taken in front of her "pretty little house" as she called it on September 21st, 2013 during our last visit with her.  She was 97 years old.

Granny was looking forward to the family reunion awaiting her in heaven.  She had out-lived her only child ~ my dad, plus two husbands, five brothers and sisters, her parents and many friends.

I won't forget a conversation we shared recently about death.  She said, "Sissy, when the time comes for me to go, just think of this story I once heard at a funeral.  Imagine me on a great ship on it's way to heaven.   As the ship is departing from it's earthly port, loved ones left behind will be tearful and saddened.  But up ahead, as I approach the heavenly shore, there I'll see all my loved ones who departed before me joyfully clapping, waving, and shouting...She's here!  She's here!  She's finally here!"

Oh, what a great homecoming party awaited her arrival.

Like my dad, Granny loved telling stories.  God blessed her with a sharp, witty mind unscathed by age or cancer that ravaged her frail body.   I loved listening to her childhood memories about life nearly 90 years ago.  If you asked her opinion of current day events, she didn't hesitate to engage in a lively thoughtful discussion of how the world has changed.

Anyone who knew Granny knew how much she enjoyed her coffee.  Her coffee is one of my earliest and fondest memories of her.

I remember being about 4 or 5 years old and sneeking into her kitchen in the wee morning hours during weekend visits.  That's where I'd catch Granny sitting at the table, reading the paper, and quietly enjoying her morning coffee.

I loved the smell and taste of her coffee which was heavily flavored with cream and sugar.  I pestered her often for sips as she tried to read the paper.  Many times, she paused from reading and carefully lifted a hot spoonful of the sweet treat from her cup.  She would blow on it until it was cool enough for me to sip from the spoon.

When I was a little older, she'd fill a tiny glass jelly jar with about an inch of her luke-warm coffee so I could have my own cup.  I'd carefully watch her and sip my coffee when she'd sip hers.  Then we'd smile at each other and say ..."Ammm" while savoring the sweet flavor.

I think of Granny often as I prepare my morning coffee...heavy in cream and sugar.

 

 

After my beloved Grandpa Casey died in the late 1960's, Granny was faced with many new challenges.  Back then, many Grandma's did not drive, including Granny.  I remember my Dad teaching her to drive.  After she passed the driving exam, I was so proud that my Granny was mobile!  It was an independence Granny enjoyed until just last year.

 

During the 1970's, Granny often traveled with our family.  We enjoyed the adventures of cable cars, Fisherman's Wharf, China Town and the Golden Gate Bridge in beautiful San Francisco. 

 

Another year, we laughed till we cried at Disneyland in California when my mom became sick on the kiddie tea-cup ride and decorated the lovely flower beds with contents of an upset stomach.

 

Yet in other years, we enjoyed a rodeo, NASA Space Center, and the Astro-Dome in Houston, Texas as well as several fishing trips to Crow Crest Lodge in Minnesota.

 

Granny & our daughter, Holly, her first Great Grandchild - 1983

 

 

After I married in 1981, life kept Chris and I very busy raising our four children.  Before we knew it, we were grandparents ourselves...making Granny a Great Great Granny three times.

 

Granny was indeed a great, great Granny! 

 

I will miss her smile, her southern drawl when she spoke, and her sense of humor.  She always poked fun at herself instead of others. 

 

I will miss her homemade sweet tea and chocolate cream pie ~ my dad's favorite.

 

And finally, as a grandma now myself, I'll miss hearing her still affectionately call me "Sissy".

 

 

I'd like to think this beautiful, youthful portrait of Granny is how she looks today in heaven. 

 

I'll be honored to carry with me her fierce independent spirit, her love of flowers and gardening and have already passed on her curly red hair and freckles. 

 

I love you and will miss you terribly, Granny...until I see you again.... waving, clapping, and shouting from heaven's shore.

 

      

 

 

"The art of celebrating life isn't about getting it right ~ but about receiving grace."

                            ~ Ann Voskamp